Sunday, May 13, 2007

A Norwegian resident of Iranian descent was flogged in public in Iran for drinking alcoholic beverages, an Iranian opposition website claimed on Saturday. It released photos of the individual bearing scars from the lashes.

Namand Mamandi, who resides in Norway, was arrested by Iran’s para-military Bassij Force while visiting his mother in Iran, according to a report on the Persian-language website Iran Asrar.He was sentenced to 130 lashes in public. Days after the sentence was carried out Mamandi managed to return to Norway. He is currently in hospital recovering from the flogging, the report said.